• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN deplores deadly attack against blue helmets in DR Congo

18 August 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has issued his second report to the General Assembly on the follow-up to the report made by the United Nations fact-finding mission into the deadly conflict in the Gaza Strip that ended early last year.

That three-week Israeli military offensive, which started at the end of 2008 with the stated aim of ending rocket attacks by militants operating in the area, left more than 1,400 people dead, injured 5,000 others and reduced homes, schools, hospitals and marketplaces to rubble.

The report of the UN fact-finding mission, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, found that Israeli forces and Palestinian militants had committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity, during the conflict.

The four-member team, set up at the request of the UN Human Rights Council, called on the two sides to carry out independent credible investigations into their actions.

Mr. Ban’s report – which concerns the implementation of the recommendations contained in the so-called Goldstone Report – contains inputs received from the Israeli and Palestinian sides on the efforts which they have undertaken so far to investigate alleged violations.

“I reiterate that international human rights and humanitarian law need to be fully respected in all situations and circumstances,” he writes in the report, which was issued yesterday.

“Accordingly, on several occasions, I have called upon all of the parties to carry out credible, independent domestic investigations into the conduct and consequences of the Gaza conflict. I hope that such steps will be taken wherever there are credible allegations of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

He adds that it is his hope that an Assembly resolution from March, by which the 192-member body endorsed the Goldstone Report’s findings and recommendations for further action, has served to “encourage investigations by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian side that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards.”

In March, the Human Rights Council decided to establish a panel of independent experts to monitor the independence, effective and genuineness of the investigations and their conformity with international standards.

The Secretary-General is conveying the documents he received from the Israeli and Palestinian sides to the High Commissioner for Human Rights for transmittal to the three-member panel, which comprises Christian Tomuschat, an expert on international human rights and humanitarian law; Mary McGowan Davis, a former justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; and Param Cumaraswamy, a human rights expert who served for nearly 10 years as the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. 18 August 2010 – The United Nations has condemned the overnight ambush of a United Nations peacekeeping base in the troubled far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which has claimed the lives of three Indian blue helmets.

The operating base of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in Kirumba, in the volatile North Kivu province, was attacked shortly before 2 a.m. local time by up to 60 unidentified men armed with machetes and spears.

Several peacekeepers engaged with the attackers, forcing them to retreat, but at least six military personnel were injured in the surprise attack, some of them critically. In the attack, whose motive is unclear, the assailants also stole two MONUSCO weapons.

“The Secretary-General condemns the assault and calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to launch an immediate investigation into this incident and ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice,” according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

He conveyed his condolences to the Indian Government and to the families of the three slain soldiers.

“The Secretary-General would like to take this opportunity to commend the men and women serving in MONUSCO in various capacities, for their efforts to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian assistance and bring peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the statement said.

Also speaking out against the deadly incident today was the Security Council, which in a press statement underlined its full support for the mission and “demanded that all parties cooperate fully with the functions of MONUSCO.”

Mission spokesperson Madnodje Mounoubai told UN Radio that MONUSCO is investigating who carried out the attack and why.

The blue helmets, he stressed, “are not party to the conflict. They are here to ensure peace. So we don’t know exactly what are reasons behind this attack.”